(If you can, go to mass today. If you can't, read the mass propers
for today, found on pages 134-137 of the Book of Common Prayer.)

First Lesson
Zechariah 9:9-129
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem:
behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation;
lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an
ass.
10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse
from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall
speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from
sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.
11 As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent
forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.
12 Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even today
do I declare that I will render double unto thee.

Second Lesson
Mark 11:1-11
1 And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany,
at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples,
2 And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against
you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt
tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him.
3 And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the
Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.
4 And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door
without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him.
5 And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do
ye, loosing the colt?
6 And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they
let them go.
7 And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments
on him; and he sat upon him.
8 And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down
branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way.
9 And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying,
Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord:10 Blessed
be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of
the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.
11 And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and
when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide
was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.

First Lesson
Jeremiah 8:9-15, 18-9:19
The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they
have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?
10 Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields
to them that shall inherit them: for every one from the least
even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet
even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people
slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
12 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay,
they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore
shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation
they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.
13 I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there shall be
no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf
shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass
away from them.
14 Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter
into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there: for the
LORD our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall
to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.15 We
looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health,
and behold trouble!
18 When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint
in me.
19 Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because
of them that dwell in a far country: Is not the LORD in Zion?
is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with
their graven images, and with strange vanities?
20 The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.
21 For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am
black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.
22 Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why
then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
1 Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears,
that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter
of my people!

Second Lesson
1 Corinthians 1:17-3117
For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel:
not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be
made of none effect.
18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness;
but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer
of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew
not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save
them that believe.
22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock,
and unto the Greeks foolishness;
24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ
the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the
weakness of God is stronger than men.
26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise
men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound
the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to
confound the things which are mighty;
28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised,
hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought
things that are:
29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto
us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:31 That,
according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in
the Lord.

First Lesson
Isaiah 42:1-7
1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul
delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth
judgment to the Gentiles.
2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard
in the street.
3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall
he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment
in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.
5 Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched
them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh
out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and
spirit to them that walk therein:6 I
the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine
hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the
people, for a light of the Gentiles;
7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the
prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

Second Lesson
John 14:1-141
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also
in me.
2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so,
I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again,
and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be
also.
4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest;
and how can we know the way?
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:
no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and
from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth
us.
9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and
yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath
seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?
10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father
in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself:
but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me:
or else believe me for the very works' sake.
12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the
works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these
shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that
the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

First Lesson
Lamentations 1:7-12
7 Jerusalem remembered in the days of her affliction and of her
miseries all her pleasant things that she had in the days of
old, when her people fell into the hand of the enemy, and none
did help her: the adversaries saw her, and did mock at her sabbaths.
8 Jerusalem hath grievously sinned; therefore she is removed:
all that honoured her despise her, because they have seen her
nakedness: yea, she sigheth, and turneth backward.
9 Her filthiness is in her skirts; she remembereth not her last
end; therefore she came down wonderfully: she had no comforter.
O LORD, behold my affliction: for the enemy hath magnified himself.
10 The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her pleasant
things: for she hath seen that the heathen entered into her sanctuary,
whom thou didst command that they should not enter into thy congregation.
11 All her people sigh, they seek bread; they have given their
pleasant things for meat to relieve the soul: see, O LORD, and
consider; for I am become vile.
12 Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see
if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto
me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce
anger.

Second Lesson
John 14:15-31
15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another
Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because
it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he
dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye
see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in
me, and I in you.
21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that
loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father,
and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou
wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will
keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come
unto him, and make our abode with him.
24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word
which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.
25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with
you.
26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father
will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring
all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the
world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid.
28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again
unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I
go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.
29 And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when
it is come to pass, ye might believe.
30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of
this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as
the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go
hence.

Tuesday
before Easter
(If you can, go to mass today. If you can't, read the mass propers
for today, found on pages 144-147 of the Book of Common Prayer)

First Lesson
Hosea 14
1 O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen
by thine iniquity.2 Take
with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away
all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the
calves of our lips.
3 Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither
will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods:
for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.
4 I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for
mine anger is turned away from him.
5 I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily,
and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
6 His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive
tree, and his smell as Lebanon.
7 They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive
as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be
as the wine of Lebanon.
8 Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I
have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree.
From me is thy fruit found.
9 Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent,
and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and
the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall
therein.

Second Lesson
John 15:1-16
1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and
every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring
forth more fruit.
3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto
you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit
of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except
ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me,
and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without
me ye can do nothing.
6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and
is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire,
and they are burned.
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask
what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so
shall ye be my disciples.
9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue
ye in my love.
10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even
as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain
in you, and that your joy might be full.
12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have
loved you.
13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his
life for his friends.
14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth
not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all
things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto
you.16 Ye
have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you,
that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit
should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in
my name, he may give it you.

First Lesson
Lamentations 2:10, 13-19
10 The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground, and
keep silence: they have cast up dust upon their heads; they have
girded themselves with sackcloth: the virgins of Jerusalem hang
down their heads to the ground.
13 What thing shall I take to witness for thee? what thing shall
I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? what shall I equal
to thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion?
for thy breach is great like the sea: who can heal thee?
14 Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and
they have not discovered thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity;
but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment.15 All
that pass by clap their hands at thee; they hiss and wag their
head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, Is this the city that
men call The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth?
16 All thine enemies have opened their mouth against thee: they
hiss and gnash the teeth: they say, We have swallowed her up:
certainly this is the day that we looked for; we have found,
we have seen it.
17 The LORD hath done that which he had devised; he hath fulfilled
his word that he had commanded in the days of old: he hath thrown
down, and hath not pitied: and he hath caused thine enemy to
rejoice over thee, he hath set up the horn of thine adversaries.
18 Their heart cried unto the Lord, O wall of the daughter of
Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night: give thyself
no rest: let not the apple of thine eye cease.
19 Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches
pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord:
lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children,
that faint for hunger in the top of every street.

Second Lesson
John 15:17-27
17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.18 If
the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated
you.
19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but
because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of
the world, therefore the world hateth you.
20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not
greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will
also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep
yours also.
21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake,
because they know not him that sent me.
22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin:
but now they have no cloak for their sin.
23 He that hateth me hateth my Father also.
24 If I had not done among them the works which none other man
did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated
both me and my Father.
25 But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled
that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.
26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you
from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from
the Father, he shall testify of me:
27 And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with
me from the beginning.

Wednesday
before Easter
(If you can, go to mass today. If you can't, read the mass propers
for today, found on pages 147-152 of the Book of Common Prayer)

First Lesson
Zechariah 12:9-10; 13:1, 7-9
9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to
destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants
of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they
shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn
for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness
for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
1 In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of
David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.
7 Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that
is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and
the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon
the little ones.
8 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the
LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third
shall be left therein.9 And
I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine
them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried:
they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say,
It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.

Second Lesson
John 16:1-15
1 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be
offended.2 They
shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that
whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not
known the Father, nor me.
4 But these things have I told you, that when the time shall
come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things
I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.
5 But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh
me, Whither goest thou?
6 But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath
filled your heart.
7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you
that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not
come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and
of righteousness, and of judgment:
9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;
10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me
no more;
11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear
them now.
13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide
you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever
he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things
to come.
14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall
show it unto you.
15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I,
that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you.

First Lesson
Lamentations 3:1, 14-33
1 I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.
14 I was a derision to all my people; and their song all the
day.
15 He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken
with wormwood.
16 He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered
me with ashes.17 And
thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity.
18 And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the LORD:
19 Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and
the gall.
20 My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in
me.
21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
22 It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because
his compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
24 The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope
in him.25 The
LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh
him.
26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for
the salvation of the LORD.
27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.
28 He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne
it upon him.
29 He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope.
30 He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him: he is filled
full with reproach.
31 For the Lord will not cast off for ever:
32 But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according
to the multitude of his mercies.
33 For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children
of men.

Second Lesson
John 16:16-33
16 A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little
while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.
17 Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is
this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not
see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and,
Because I go to the Father?
18 They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little
while? we cannot tell what he saith.
19 Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said
unto them, Do ye inquire among yourselves of that I said, A little
while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and
ye shall see me?
20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament,
but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your
sorrow shall be turned into joy.
21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour
is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth
no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.
22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again,
and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from
you.
23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I
say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name,
he will give it you.
24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall
receive, that your joy may be full.
25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time
cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but
I shall show you plainly of the Father.
26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you,
that I will pray the Father for you:
27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me,
and have believed that I came out from God.
28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world:
again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.
29 His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly,
and speakest no proverb.
30 Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest
not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou
camest forth from God.
31 Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe?32 Behold,
the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered,
every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am
not alone, because the Father is with me.33 These
things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.
In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer;
I have overcome the world.

Maundy Thursday
(If you can, go to mass today. If you can't, read the mass propers
for today, found on pages 152-156 of the Book of Common Prayer)

First Lesson
Jeremiah 31:31-34
31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a
new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of
Judah:
32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers
in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of
the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was
an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house
of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law
in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will
be their God, and they shall be my people.
34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and
every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall
all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them,
saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will
remember their sin no more.

Second Lesson
John 13:18-3818
I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the
scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath
lifted up his heel against me.
19 Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass,
ye may believe that I am he.
20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever
I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that
sent me.
21 When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified,
and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall
betray me.
22 Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom
he spake.
23 Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples,
whom Jesus loved.
24 Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask
who it should be of whom he spake.
25 He then lying on Jesus' breast saith unto him, Lord, who is
it?26 Jesus
answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped
it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot,
the son of Simon.
27 And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus
unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.
28 Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this
unto him.
29 For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that
Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of
against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor.
30 He then having received the sop went immediately out: and
it was night.
31 Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son
of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
32 If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in
himself, and shall straightway glorify him.
33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall
seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot
come; so now I say to you.
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another;
as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye
have love one to another.
36 Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus
answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but
thou shalt follow me afterwards.
37 Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I
will lay down my life for thy sake.
38 Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake?
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till
thou hast denied me thrice.

First Lesson
Lamentations 3:40-58
40 Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD.
41 Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.
42 We have transgressed and have rebelled: thou hast not pardoned.
43 Thou hast covered with anger, and persecuted us: thou hast
slain, thou hast not pitied.
44 Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should
not pass through.
45 Thou hast made us as the offscouring and refuse in the midst
of the people.
46 All our enemies have opened their mouths against us.
47 Fear and a snare is come upon us, desolation and destruction.
48 Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction
of the daughter of my people.
49 Mine eye trickleth down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission,
50 Till the LORD look down, and behold from heaven.
51 Mine eye affecteth mine heart because of all the daughters
of my city.
52 Mine enemies chased me sore, like a bird, without cause.
53 They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and cast a stone
upon me.
54 Waters flowed over mine head; then I said, I am cut off.
55 I called upon thy name, O LORD, out of the low dungeon.
56 Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing,
at my cry.
57 Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou
saidst, Fear not.58 O
Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed
my life.

Second Lesson
John 17
1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven,
and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy
Son also may glorify thee:
2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should
give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only
true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work
which thou gavest me to do.
5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with
the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me
out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and
they have kept thy word.
7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given
me are of thee.
8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me;
and they have received them, and have known surely that I came
out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which
thou hast given me; for they are thine.
10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified
in them.
11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world,
and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name
those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name:
those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost,
but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world,
that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them,
because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world,
but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent
them into the world.
19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might
be sanctified through the truth.
20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall
believe on me through their word;
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and
I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may
believe that thou hast sent me.22 And
the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may
be one, even as we are one:
23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in
one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and
hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be
with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou
hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the
world.
25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have
known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.
26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it:
that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and
I in them.

Good Friday
(If you can, go to mass today. If you can't, read the mass propers
for today, found on pages 156-160 of the Book of Common Prayer.)

First Lesson
Genesis 22:1-18
1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt
Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here
I am.
2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou
lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there
for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell
thee of.
3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass,
and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and
clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went
unto the place of which God had told him.
4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the
place afar off.
5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the
ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again
to you.
6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it
upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife;
and they went both of them together.
7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father:
and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire
and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for
a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham
built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac
his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to
slay his son.
11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and
said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou
any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing
thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind
him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went
and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in
the stead of his son.
14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as
it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be
seen.
15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven
the second time,
16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because
thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine
only son:
17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will
multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand
which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate
of his enemies;
18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
because thou hast obeyed my voice.

Second Lesson
John 18
1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples
over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, into the which he
entered, and his disciples.
2 And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place: for Jesus
ofttimes resorted thither with his disciples.
3 Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from
the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns
and torches and weapons.
4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him,
went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?
5 They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them,
I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.
6 As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward,
and fell to the ground.
7 Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus
of Nazareth.
8 Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore
ye seek me, let these go their way:
9 That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them
which thou gavest me have I lost none.
10 Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high
priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name
was Malchus.
11 Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath:
the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?
12 Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took
Jesus, and bound him,
13 And led him away to Annas first; for he was father-in-law
to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year.
14 Now Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that
it was expedient that one man should die for the people.
15 And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple:
that disciple was known unto the high priest, and went in with
Jesus into the palace of the high priest.
16 But Peter stood at the door without. Then went out that other
disciple, which was known unto the high priest, and spake unto
her that kept the door, and brought in Peter.
17 Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter, Art not
thou also one of this man's disciples? He saith, I am not.
18 And the servants and officers stood there, who had made a
fire of coals; for it was cold: and they warmed themselves: and
Peter stood with them, and warmed himself.
19 The high priest then asked Jesus of his disciples, and of
his doctrine.
20 Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught
in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always
resort; and in secret have I said nothing.
21 Why askest thou me? ask them which heard me, what I have said
unto them: behold, they know what I said.
22 And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood
by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest
thou the high priest so?
23 Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of
the evil: but if well, why smitest thou me?
24 Now Annas had sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest.
25 And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. They said therefore
unto him, Art not thou also one of his disciples? He denied it,
and said, I am not.
26 One of the servants of the high priest, being his kinsman
whose ear Peter cut off, saith, Did not I see thee in the garden
with him?
27 Peter then denied again: and immediately the cock crew.
28 Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment:
and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment
hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the
passover.
29 Pilate then went out unto them, and said, What accusation
bring ye against this man?
30 They answered and said unto him, If he were not a malefactor,
we would not have delivered him up unto thee.
31 Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him, and judge him according
to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful
for us to put any man to death:
32 That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake,
signifying what death he should die.
33 Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called
Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews?
34 Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or
did others tell it thee of me?
35 Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief
priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done?
36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom
were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should
not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from
hence.
37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus
answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born,
and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear
witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth
my voice.
38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said
this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I
find in him no fault at all.
39 But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at
the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King
of the Jews?
40 Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas.
Now Barabbas was a robber.

First Lesson
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
13 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted
and extolled, and be very high.
14 As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more
than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
15 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their
mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they
see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the
LORD revealed?
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a
root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and
when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire
him.
3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted
with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was
despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet
we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for
our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and
with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one
to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of
us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his
mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep
before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare
his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living:
for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in
his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit
in his mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to
grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he
shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure
of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied:
by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for
he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and
he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured
out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors;
and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Second Lesson
1 Peter 2:11-2511
Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain
from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that,
whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your
good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of
visitation.
13 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's
sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;
14 Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the
punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.15 For
so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence
the ignorance of foolish men:
16 As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness,
but as the servants of God.
17 Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the
king.
18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only
to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.
19 For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God
endure grief, suffering wrongfully.
20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults,
ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer
for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.
21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered
for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered,
he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth
righteously:
24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree,
that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness:
by whose stripes ye were healed.
25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto
the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

Easter Even
(If you can, go to mass today. If you can't, read the mass propers
for today, found on pages 161-162
of the Book of Common Prayer.)

First Lesson
Job 14:1-14
1 Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.
2 He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also
as a shadow, and continueth not.
3 And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest
me into judgment with thee?4 Who
can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.
5 Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are
with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;
6 Turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish,
as an hireling, his day.
7 For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will
sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.
8 Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock
thereof die in the ground;
9 Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth
boughs like a plant.
10 But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost,
and where is he?
11 As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and
drieth up:
12 So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no
more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.
13 O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest
keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint
me a set time, and remember me!
14 If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed
time will I wait, till my change come.

Second Lesson
John 19:38-42
38 And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus,
but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might
take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came
therefore, and took the body of Jesus.
39 And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to
Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about
an hundred pound weight.
40 Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes
with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.
41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden;
and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet
laid.
42 There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation
day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.

First Lesson
Job 19:21-27a
21 Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for
the hand of God hath touched me.
22 Why do ye persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with
my flesh?
23 Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed
in a book!
24 That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock
for ever!25 For
I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the
latter day upon the earth:
26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my
flesh shall I see God:
27 Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and
not another.

Second Lesson
Romans 6:3-11
3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus
Christ were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that
like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the
Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his
death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that
the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should
not serve sin.
7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also
live with him:
9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more;
death hath no more dominion over him.
10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he
liveth, he liveth unto God.11 Likewise
reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive
unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.